Forever and a Half
by mpookiew
Summary: When Emmaline is 15 yrs. old she knows that she is in love with her best friend Daniel but also knows that he doesn't love her back. Sorry, it is not actually a Twilight story but her friend is suspiciously like Alice Cullen... Please read and review.
1. Prologue

PRELOGUE

9 yrs. old

I sat on the edge of my queen bed and stared numbly at the pink wallpaper in my room. I suppose it hadn't really set in yet. Over and over in my mind played the words: _Matthew died, Matthew died, your big brother, your only brother died, Matthew died, Matthew died… _I couldn't help but think of how things were. How they never would be again.

Ever since I was little I had loved playing with Matthew and his best friend Daniel who were both two years older than me (but only one grade- I was young for my grade). The two were like brothers and were always playing and getting into trouble with each other. I loved being around them and always tried to follow them wherever they went. They always acted like they were annoyed but I suspected that they really didn't mind when I was around them. I was chasing after them just yesterday, though I was now nine years old and should have stopped by now. I thought of specific things: me running after them in the peach orchard behind my house, trying to be just as good as them at baseball, and trying to act tough when I was around them and scraped my knee. I remembered one summer when I was seven and they were nine and had both carved their names into one of the many peach trees in the giant orchard. That night, I snuck outside in my nightgown and carved my name underneath theirs, smiling at the effect.

I heard a noise to my right, coming from my window. For a moment, I thought it was Matt and Danny climbing up the trellis to either play a prank on me or sneak me out of the house, like they had done on occasion. Then I remembered that Matthew would never do anything like that again. When I heard the familiar yet faint squeaking of my window being opened, I slowly turned my head to the right. I let out a breath at the welcome sight of Daniel coming into my room. I thought it would hurt to see his familiar face but it did the opposite; it made me feel better. I knew that if there were one person in this world that would be hurting as much as I did right now, it would be Danny.

The bed bounced slightly as he sat next to me. He didn't say anything and neither did I. Even so, the pain eased just a bit.

All of a sudden it came crashing down on me. _My brother was dead and I would never see him again. _I longed for him to hug me or tell me that he loved me just one more time. What I would give for him to even say that I was just a girl and couldn't play with him and Danny. I instinctively tried to cover up my emotions, tried to act tough in front of Danny. My chin quivered as I tried desperately to stop the tears that I could feel flooding my eyes.

I felt warm arms around me as Danny pulled me into his lap. The tears were running freely now and I leaned my head against his shoulder. I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed. Danny was silent but I felt a tear drop onto my arm from his face. I looked up into his tear-filled, deep, chocolate brown eyes, seeking reassurance.

"We'll be okay, Emmy," he whispered. I liked how he said "we".


	2. Chapter 1

ONE

9 yrs. Old

When I woke up the next morning I could vaguely remember Daniel putting me down on my bed when I had used up all of my tears. I knew that I didn't have to worry about Danny's mom or dad, Tiffany and Jeff, looking for him- they would know that he was here. Our parents were like his second set of parents and his parents were Matthew's and my second set of parents. Just like usual, (I was surprised that anything was normal in the world) I stared at the ceiling for, I think, about five minutes before I got up. I sat up and saw Daniel sleeping on my window seat. I stared at him a minute, still trying to wake up. His dark blonde hair was shaggy and falling onto his forehead. I sighed and climbed out of bed.

I looked around my room, trying to put some thoughts together in my groggy state. I had a big bed with a sage green, quilted comforter. There was a big window, right above where Danny was sleeping, that looked out into my backyard and into the giant peach orchard beyond that. I had a chair to the right of my bed and a big closet and vanity to my left. I walked up to my vanity and examined my reflection. My wavy, dark brown hair was messy and hanging so it was just below my shoulders. I normally liked my eyes, they were big and a deep blue, but they were puffy and red from crying the night before. I saw my chin quivering before I felt it and tears were threatening to cascade down my cheeks once again.

_You need to pull it together, Emmaline. You know that Matt would not want you to be sad. Nope. No way, no how. He would want you to be happy and live your life._

I decided that that was what I was going to do. I would be happy and not dwell on this. Of course I would be sad. I would be more than sad but I couldn't let that take over my life. I knew that Matthew loved me and would never want that for me. It was surprisingly easy to make the decision.

I heard Daniel groan and sit up. He mumbled something that sounded like, "I should get going." I whispered thanks to him and he smiled at me warmly. I waved goodbye as he climbed out my window and disappeared.

I was not looking forward to breakfast with my parents this morning. I guessed that they would not have come to the same conclusion about Matthew's death that I had. They would also probably be wondering why I didn't appear to be sad in the least. I stepped out of my bedroom, my socks making my footsteps quiet. The house was eerily silent. I didn't like it. I stepped up to the staircase that led from the second floor balcony, outside of my room, to the entrance hall in our house. It was a big staircase and it had always reminded me of the ones in the movies that the beautiful ladies at balls come down after they are introduced. I only acted like a girl at a ball on special occasions though. Usually, I just slid down the banister with Matt and Danny. I climbed up on the banister and slid down, facing forwards with the wind blowing my hair out behind my face. At the last moment I grabbed on tight so I wouldn't fly off onto the floor (which I had done before and I did _not _care to do again). I jumped down and headed to the kitchen.

I walked in hesitantly, not really wanting to see my parent's faces. They were both sitting at the table, staring at their plates that were both filled with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. I slid up to the table and dug in- it looked delicious to _me_, anyway. I glanced up when I saw both of them turn their heads my way. Both of my parents were looking at me like I had gone insane. I would have to explain my thoughts. I took a deep breath to explain when my mother cut me off.

"It's alright, sweetie," she said with a look that said she knew exactly what I was thinking. She didn't. My stomach grumbled and I quickly decided that I would set my mother straight at a later date.

After I finished eating and got ready for the day I told my mom that I was going to Daniel's house. It only seemed natural that that was where I would spend my time from now on- with Danny. I headed over to his house just like I would everyday for a few days. I didn't want to be with my parents when they were sad. I knew they needed time to grieve, though, so I would give it to them and then I would tell them what I thought Matthew would want us to do.

Over the next few days I was amazed to find how close Danny and I had become. We were already pretty close; he was like a big brother to me even before Matt died. I was surprised, though, how it was like we had been best friends our whole lives when it had been just a few days of us playing with only each other. I would never tell Danny but I thought it was like we were connected in some way that other best friends weren't. Most of the time, I would know what he was thinking by just looking at his eyes and vise versa. I knew that he was my rock. He would always be there for me. I also liked how I knew that I didn't just need him, he needed me too. In such a short time I knew that nothing would ever change our friendship. We would always be best friends and nothing could change that. Of course, as a nine year old, I didn't know exactly how hard it would be to stay so close.

* * *

The funeral was depressing, to say the least. Everybody was wearing black and crying. Except me of course. Despite the pleadings of my mother, I wore a bright yellow dress and not the black outfit that she had bought me the day before. I also wanted to speak at the service by my mom put her foot down when my dad almost let me. She thought I would start bawling or something right in the middle. Instead, I had to sit through an hour of strangers saying nonsense about some little boy that I didn't know. Danny agreed with me. I knew this because I sat right between my parents on my right and the Parkers on my left. Danny held my hand the whole time and we whispered about the people who were speaking about this "Matthew". I knew that if Matt were here he wouldn't like it one bit.

I'll stop talking about the funeral- as you can see; I didn't like it at all. So, I will change the subject to something interesting. I believe in ghosts. I think that they are all around us- not in the creepy way, though. I thought it was more to comfort people. I didn't even want to think about heaven and hell and whatnot but there was one thing that I knew. Sometimes I felt Matt. I felt him with me when something really good happened or if I was sad. So that was why I started talking to his headstone. Sure, it sounds morbid, but I felt him more when I was around the cemetery.

The day after the funeral was the first time I went to the cemetery. Maybe I expected to see Matt's ghost or something. It didn't happen like that. I walked up to his headstone and traced my fingers along his name. Before I go on, you have to understand that this wasn't creepy at all. It seemed only natural to go to Matt's headstone and start talking to him.

"I miss you Matt," I whispered. I didn't know how to talk. I mean, how do you speak to someone that is dead? Since I didn't know how to go about talking to my brother, I decided that it would be best if I acted like he was right there and I just couldn't see him. "Mom and Dad aren't talking much. I think I am going to tell them how I think about it. You know that's why I am not acting really sad, right? I _do _miss you I just don't think that you would like it very much if I wasted my whole life like that." I went on like that, having a one-way conversation with my dead brother. At the very end, I _felt_ Matt. Not physically but just like he was beyond my reach. I felt his spirit next to me and I knew that he liked that I was here. That was the reason that I never stopped going to his grave.

When it was lunchtime, I decided to go home. When I got to my house I yelled to my parents, "Mom! Dad! Time for a family meeting!"

I sat in the living room that was normally the place that we held meetings. My mom came in first and sat on the chair across from me. She was a very pretty woman (people said I looked just like her) but you could already tell that Matthew's death was wearing on her. She had dark brown hair, just like me, but wore it long and straight. She also had big, dark brown eyes. My father came in next and sat down next to me. He had dark blonde hair and I got my blue eyes from him.

"I need to explain why I haven't been acting very sad," I said, getting right down to business. "I am not sad because I simple don't think that Matt would have liked it. He would have wanted us to be happy and keep on living. None of this moping around! We can do things in memory of him and we shouldn't not do things just because you don't think it would be right without him here. He wouldn't want that. Not at all." I finished my speech by looking into their wide eyes. "Just think about it." Then I walked out of the room with them gaping after me.

* * *

**Hope you guys like it so far! It's hard to put what is in my head in words, you know? Please review! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 2

TWO

10 yrs. Old

Daniel and I were in the middle of my peach orchard, laying on the grass and looking up at the sky.

"What to you wanna do?" Danny sighed.

"I don't know, what do _you_ wanna do?" I asked back.

It had been going on like this for about an hour or so. As you can clearly see, we had already run out of things to do, even though school had only been out for a month.

Danny suddenly jerked into a sitting position. I sat up too, surprised by his sudden movement.

"Let's build a tree house!" Danny said, grinning at me like a maniac. I grinned back automatically. I didn't have to say anything- he already knew what my answer would be.

We went back to our houses to okay it with our parents. Both dads were ecstatic about the idea. They said they would help us get all the supplies and build it with us. Of course we all knew that they would end up doing pretty much all of the work, anyway. On second thought, they would probably fake like they were doing all of the work and end up just hiring professionals or something.

It took Danny and me three whole days to find the perfect tree that we could build our house in. We wanted it to be just right so that our tree house could be just right. A peach tree wouldn't be big enough or strong enough to hold up our perfect hang out. Let me tell you- it takes a while to find a non-peach tree that was up to our standards in an orchard filled with trees with peaches on them. We ended up finding a huge tree at the far end of the orchard. That was good so it would be more secluded. It was a ways from my house so it would be harder to get the supplies there but I knew it would be worth it in the long run.

* * *

Two months later it was built. It took so long because our dads actually _did_ end up building it themselves which, I have to say, it quite an accomplishment. It was an awesome tree house. There were slats of wood nailed onto the tree trunk so that you could climb up. Running along the outside of the tree house, there was a deck with a railing so we wouldn't fall off. Inside, we didn't have many things because we wanted room to roll out sleeping bags for when we had sleepovers. There was one cabinet in the corner that had snacks, activities, etc and then across from that was two big beanbags- one for each of us. The only other things in there were our two sleeping bags rolled up in another corner.

There were two windows- on opposite sides of the house that closed with shutters. Then there was my all time favorite part of the whole thing- a sunroof. I don't even know how they pulled it off but our dads fixed the roof so that part of it would roll back when we pulled a cord so at night we could see the night sky. I don't know about you, but when I was nine I hadn't seen another tree house that was as cool as ours. Actually, even when I was older I still thought it was the coolest thing ever.

For about a week, we slept in the tree house every night. We would have continued but our mothers didn't really care about our opinions. So, instead of sleeping there every night, we played there all the time instead.

* * *

Sometime in late summer, I was in the kitchen grabbing some apple juice before heading over to Danny's house.

"Emmaline," my mom said, sitting me down on one of the kitchen chairs. "I know you love Danny, and of course I do too. Even though you are best friends you need other friends too." It took me aback that she was so desperate for my attention. My mother was always one to get straight to the point but I honestly had no idea where she was going with this. Why would I need other friends when I had Danny? "You can't completely rely on him. One important fact that you need to know in life is that _boys are idiots_. I guarantee you that at some point, Danny will think that his guy friends, being cool and… other stuff… are more important than even _you_." I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Yes, you," she emphasized. "Not that he won't love you- it is just that he is will be going through a phase. Those things, that really _are_ important, will be forgotten for a… bit. But don't worry," she said, brightening up considerably. "The phase will end. Because of this whole thing though, you can't just rely on him. You need to have other friends and to do that, you need to play with other people along with Danny. Honey," she continued. "I don't want you getting hurt." She stared into my eyes for an immeasurable amount of time.

_Huh. I wonder if mom has gone insane. Why in the heck would Danny _ever_ leave me?_

In my mind, I just couldn't fathom it. Why would he ever not want to be with me?


	4. Chapter 3

THREE

11 yrs. Old

I was a curious child. I asked my parents a lot of questions, stumping them many times. I would ask them questions that were easy for them to answer and some that were not. Questions like, "Why is abbreviated such a long word?" or "What does love taste like?" My dad answered that one by saying, "Your mother's lip gloss." I thought that was a very odd thing to say. I wondered why and when in the world he had tasted my mom's lip-gloss.

One day, I jumped up on a stool and slid up to the granite counter top in my kitchen. My mom was making something that smelled yummy and I had another question on my mind. I thought this question was very important and it turned out that it was- a bit later in my life.

"How did you know you were in love with Daddy?" I asked my mother seriously.

My mom smiled. "For me it was when…" she leaned her elbow on the counter and tapped her chin, thinking. I waited patiently. She began again. "For me it was one day when I went over to a young man's house named Nathan. I knew he had a crush on me at the time," she winked and I smiled, urging her to go on. "I was already your father's girlfriend at the time and I know it wasn't a very good idea to go over to this boy's house, even though I was just picking something up. When I was leaving his house he tried to kiss me. I barely dodged it and I told him politely, once again, that I was _not interested_. I got into my car and drove to your father's house. When he answered the door and let me in, I told him, 'Remind me to never go to Nathan's house again.'" She paused.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't get it," I said trying to understand.

"Well I'm not finished yet. You see, all he said to me was, 'Okay.' Nothing else. Any other boy would have started to freak out and ask me what happened. Your father was confident and he completely trusted me to not do anything with this boy. He did just what I would want him to do. That was when I realized that I was in love with him," she said a matter-of-factly.

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully, pursing my lips. I put it at the back of my mind to contemplate later. I nodded vaguely to my mom and hopped off the stool.

I decided to hunt out my dad next. I looked everywhere and finally I found him in the garage, examining some nameless, black object in his hands.

"Daddy… when did you know you were first in love with Mom?"

"Hmm?" he said, seeming to adjust his focus on me for the first time. I repeated the question. He put his hands under my arms and lifted me onto the hood of his car and jumped up next to me. "I would say that I fell in love with your mother the very fist time I saw her," he said this with a far off gaze in his eye. He looked like he was remembering something, a different time and different place.

I waited until he was looking at me again and then asked, "So like love at first sight?"

"Exactly," he said with a smile.

"That really exists?" I confirmed, my eyes growing wide. I was surprised that my dad said this- I would have thought my mom was more of the type to say that love at first sight could happen.

"Of course!" he said looking shocked. "There are many different types of love and many different types of ways to fall in love."

"What are the different types?" I asked quickly. My curiosity was getting very hard to control.

"Well… for some people love grows very slowly over time, just like our peach trees. It takes them a very long time to realize that they are in love. For others they might like a person for a while and then one day, BAM!" I jumped. "…They recognize that they are in love. Then, of course, love at first sight, which is what happened to me. I imagine there are thousands of different ways to fall in love, though."

I decided that I would think about that later. "Tell me more about mom," I urged.

"Oh yes. We were both at a party of a girl who was a friend both of us had but I didn't know your mom yet. As I walked into the crowded living room, I saw a gorgeous girl. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. _Still_ the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. Anyway, her eyes were sparkling and she had the most perfect smile on her face. As I started walking towards her, I heard her laugh. It was her laugh, which was like the tinkling of bells that sent me right over the edge. I knew right then, that I was in love with a girl that I had never even met. I walked over to her and started a conversation that ended with her agreeing to go on a date with me. As I walked away I became conscience of the fact that I had just met the girl I wanted to marry."

I sighed appreciatively. "That's so sweet," I said leaning into my hands.

"Yes it was but… now it is time for me to get back to work," my dad said. He easily lifted me off the car and set me on the ground. He gently shoved me towards the way out.

I walked to my room, wanting to think about all of the things that were crowding my mind.

I sat on the middle of my bed with my legs crossed and my chin resting in my hands. I was thinking about what I had just heard. My mother fell in love with my dad because the way that he thought and did things fit exactly with her personality and with what she both wanted and needed. My dad, on the other hand, fell in love with a complete stranger. He knew with one glance at her eyes and just a few other things that she was the one for him.

I jolted upright realizing that there was one other person whose opinion I hadn't gotten yet. Danny, in my eyes, was most likely the most important person that I could ask. I liked asking him questions the best because he would both explain it to me thoroughly and make sure I understood it completely or, if he didn't know, he would find out and then tell me. He always took my serious questions very seriously and would say everything he felt on the subject. I needed one of those kinds of answers today.

I raced over to his house and walked in the door. It wasn't that far of a run because he only lived two houses to the right of mine. "Danny!" I called. He came out of the kitchen a few second later with one Popsicle in his mouth and another in his hand.

"Yup?" he asked, handing me the Popsicle in his hand.

"I have an important question to ask you," I replied, taking the yellow Popsicle from him.

He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. We walked into the kitchen and out the back door. He started running and I followed. We were both very fast runners so I kept up with him easily as he went through our neighbor's yard into my orchard. We were both breathing hard when we came to our tree house. I climbed up and was through the door with him following close behind. I tugged on the string that made the roof open up to reveal a clear blue sky and a bright sun. I sat right under it while Danny flopped into his beanbag.

"How do you think people _know_ when they have fallen in love with somebody?" I asked him.

He took a long time to think, sitting in silence. I waited patiently, sucking on my Popsicle that was starting to drip onto my hand.

"Well," he started, choosing his words carefully. "I think you would know if you were in love with someone if… you wanted to spend all of your time with that person."

I nodded- that seemed reasonable.

He continued. "Not just now but you would want to be with them for the rest of your life."

"Like forever?" I asked.

"No," he said smiling. " Forever and a half."

"Forever and a half?" I asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you would want to be with them for more than forever."

"Is that even possible?"

"No idea," he answered. "But you would want to if it _was_ possible."

"Hmm," I said, thinking it over. I like the way that sounded- forever and a half. "Go on," I urged him.

"I think you would love them even if they did things that annoyed you," he said, continuing.

"Like how you always fidget when you are impatient?" I teased.

He nodded. "And how _you _always bite the inside of your cheek when you are thinking something that you know you shouldn't say." He was right on about that.

I smacked his arm. "What else?"

Danny looked a little embarrassed but went on anyway. "Well… when you kiss…"

"Yeah?" I asked. I was excited to hear what he would say. I also thought that it was funny that he looked like he was embarrassed about it.

"Well I think that when you kiss you will know that it is right."

"I don't get it," I said.

He tried again. "When you kiss, everything will just feel _right_. Like everything is in its right place in the world. Like… when you are kissing them, everything is perfect and you will _know_ that that is the person that you are supposed to be with."

"Ooooohhhh," I said. I got it. I knew what he was trying to say and it certainly made sense to me.

Hearing about all of these things today, I really couldn't wait until I found the person that was perfect for _me_.

* * *

**Hey guys! I hope you like it so far. Will you tell me if you like it and what not? Also, if you have any favorite parts, tell me! Thanks for taking a chance to read this- even though it isn't exactly a fanfiction. (I kinda feel bad about that) ~mpookiew**


	5. Chapter 4

FOUR

14 yrs. Old

I was excited. Danny just got his car- it was his sixteenth birthday present because he had just gotten his license two days ago. He said that he wanted to take me out for ice cream for his first ride in the car. I had to say, I was flattered- normally, I knew he would choose me in a heartbeat but lately, he had been hanging out with his other friends a lot more than me. I usually just shrugged it off and told myself I was imagining it but sometimes, it felt like he was forgetting me.

I wondered what could have changed so drastically in the last two years. The change had been slow so I was still just noticing it but he _definitely_ wasn't spending as much time with me. It was different than it used to be. When I asked him to come over, go somewhere, or have a sleepover, he actually thought about it first. Sometimes he even refused which confused me because he never would have done that before.

Even so, when we were around each other, we were as close as ever. I had vaguely thought on occasion that if someone didn't know us, they would think we were going out. We held hands, hugged, and I sat on his lap- but it was in a friends/brother-sister way. I didn't think of it in a romantic way, though, and neither did he.

I put on some mascara and lip-gloss. I wasn't really into the whole make-up thing so I usually just put on some light make-up.

When I heard my doorbell ring, I ran to the door and threw it open.

"Danny!" I exclaimed and jumped into his arms.

"Hey Em," he chuckled, hugging me back. "You ready?" he asked while grinning.

"Well… I don't know if I can trust you…" I said while successfully keeping a smile off my face.

He gently smacked my arm. "You know I'm a good driver! You have been in the car with me when I had just my permit."

_Yeah, when your parents were in there, too._

He didn't wait for me to answer but instead grabbed my hand and pulled me to his car. The car was clearly new buy it wasn't _super_ expensive, either. His parents weren't stupid enough to do _that._ Still… it was his own car!

"Nice," I breathed while running my free hand along the shiny hood.

He nodded knowingly and opened my door, helping me get in.

_Well aren't you adorable? Who knew that sixteen year olds could act like such gentlemen? Ah, your mother has taught you well._

Once we were both settled, he turned to me and grinned. I couldn't help but smile in response. I had no idea how he did it but, he just made me so happy!

By the time we got to the popular ice cream parlor and he slid into a parking space smoothly, I couldn't deny it any longer.

"Okay," I sighed, turning to him. "You are a great driver."

He grinned. He had been expecting me to say that. "I know," he said cockily and stepped out of the car. Even acting so smug, I still loved him.

When we got inside, he turned to me and said, "What-"

"The usual," I said, smiling and cutting him off.

He nodded to me and told me to find a place to sit.

I grabbed a couple of spoons from nearby and looked around for a place to sit. It wasn't really that crowded. There was a couple towards the back and two different tables of boys that looked to be about Danny's age. I passed one of the tables with the boys and headed towards our favorite counter at the back of the parlor. It had really high stools that always made me feel rather powerful sitting in them.

Danny came over with our ice creams a few minutes later. He had a vaguely troubled look on his face but it disappeared so quickly that I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not. He set my chocolate ice cream with creamy caramel sauce and brownies in front of me and proceeded to dig into his usual giant sundae.

I laughed. "Yummy?"

He nodded and chuckled. I smiled at him and dug into mine.

Fifteen minutes later, with our both of our stomachs satisfied, we jumped off our stools. Daniel glanced around the parlor and odd look came to his face. I was about to ask him about it when he put his arm around my waist and guided me out of the parlor.

Outside of my house, we sat in his car. "Well thanks," I said, a smile still on my face. I wondered why that always happened when I was around him. Nobody else could make me smile so easily- just by being in the room. "I had fun. We haven't played in a while… do you want to hang out?" I wasn't sure of the answer- what with him not wanted to be with me as much.

"Uh, I actually have plans already. Sorry Emmy," he said.

I guess I had already known the answer. "Okay," I said, trying not to sigh. "See you."

He nodded at me as I climbed out of his car.

"Bye," I whispered to him again as he drove away.

* * *

Danny's POV

I had just gotten my sixteenth birthday present, which was a car. Man, I was so excited! It wasn't super nice, but who cares? It was mine! I loved being sixteen. Plus, now my parents were finally going to allow me to take girls on _dates_. Anyway, I had planned on taking Emmy out to ice cream at the popular ice cream parlor that we had gone to many a time. Except now, I was driving!

I hadn't been hanging out with Emmaline as much so that was why I was taking her out. I mean, I had different friends now and she did too. Sometimes my mom would give me a look saying I needed to be with Emmy more but I knew that she had friends so it wasn't like she was lonely or anything. Nothing was different with us except that I wasn't with her 24/7. I still loved being around her though.

As I walked up to her door, a smile was already creeping onto my face. I swear, even being _near_ that girl made me smile. I rang the doorbell. I normally would have walked in but she was coming out so there wasn't really a point.

Emmaline flung open the door, yelled "Danny!" and jumped into my waiting arms. Her dark, now long, hair flew around both of our faces.

"Hey Em," I said, hugging her and chuckling. "You ready?" I asked while keeping an idiotic grin on my face.

The smile vanished from her face but I could still see amusement in her eyes. "Well… I don't know if I can trust you…" she said. I have to say, she was a very good actor. That was very useful when she spontaneously decided to talk to strangers, making up a whole story about her life.

I gently smacked her arm. "You know I'm a good driver! You have been in the car with me when I had just my permit." I _was_ a good driver.

Emmy bit the inside of her cheek, fighting a smile. I knew she was stopping herself from saying something. Instead of finding out what it was, I grabbed her hand and headed to my new car.

"Nice," she breathed while running her free hand along the shiny hood.

I nodded and opened her door, helping her get in. Her blue eyes sparkled. She really was a pretty girl. I walked around to the driver's side and got in, grinning at her. A smile grew on her face as I started the car.

When we got to the ice cream parlor, she took a deep breath and turned to me. I already knew what she was going to say. "Okay," she sighed dramatically. "You are a great driver."

"I know," I said and got out of the car.

When we got inside I said, "What-"

She cut me off saying, "The usual." Of course. She never got anything other than chocolate ice cream with caramel on it and brownies on the side. I couldn't really blame her though; I got a sundae every time.

I nodded towards her and told her to find a place to sit.

I got the ice cream and turned towards the tables, searching for her. She was at the back sitting on a high chair, playing with our plastic spoons, oblivious to everything around her. That wasn't what bothered me though; there was a table full of boys that were from my grade all staring at her. I didn't like it. I could tell it was the look that said that they thought she was cute but I thought the whole thing was kind of weird, she was only fourteen! I took a better look at her profile. She _was_ a very pretty girl. It was a natural pretty, too. I knew she didn't put on like any make up at all. I predicted that she would be very beautiful when she got older. I walked towards the tables, restraining myself from snapping at the guys. It was just too weird- I still thought of her as a little girl and here she was at fourteen, already turning heads.

I got to her and climbed up on the chair next to her. I handed her the ice cream and dug into mine.

"Yummy?" she asked, grinning.

I nodded and kept on eating. I really couldn't think about anything else except that guys were _looking_ at her. Like _looking _looking at her. I didn't know why I felt so protective about it though.

When we were done, we both got down from our chairs and I looked at the boys. All of them were still surreptitiously glancing at her. I wanted to yell at them to stop it but instead, settled for sliding my arm around her waist protectively. As we walked out, I glared at them without letting Emmy see. They turned back to their food –almost- looking apologetic, now that they thought I was her boyfriend or something. Yeah right! She was just like a little sister to me.

We got in the car but I didn't say a word to her. I was thinking about why I had acted so protective. It wasn't like the boys actually did anything. I decided that it was just because I felt a need to protect her because she didn't have her own big brother anymore.

When we got to her house, she asked me if we wanted to hang out. I wasn't really paying attention so I said that I already had plans. I _think_ I did. I thought she looked sad for a bit and I was about to change my mind when she slammed the car door closed. So much for that.

As I drove home, I couldn't help but wonder how in just an hour, I had gotten so confused about everything- mostly confused about Emmy, though. What had just happened?

**Hey I know more people are reading this than those that are reviewing! Will you please tell me if you like it or if you have favorite parts? Thanks for reading! ~mpookiew**


	6. Chapter 5

EMMY MEETS BARBIE

15 yrs. Old

I was sitting in the living room, notebook in hand, trying to figure out something to babble on about for an essay due in English the next day. I jumped a little when, through the living room's open doorway, I saw the front door start to open.

Danny peeked his head in and spotted me sitting on the loveseat.

"Hey Danny!" I said, glad for a distraction from the essay.

"Hey Emmy," he replied, grinning. He stepped into the house and motioned someone behind him to follow.

_Huh?_

He walked into the living room and sat on the armrest to the left of me. Following him came an unnaturally blonde girl. She stood next to him in her bright green high heels.

I knew from the moment our eyes met that we would not get along. Now, I'm not usually one to judge by appearances but I had a distinct feeling that I had already started to dislike her.

She was pretty- I'm not stupid enough to deny that- in fact; some might even say she was gorgeous. I was absolutely sure that she was the hottest girl in the grade- by guy standards anyway. Even though you could easily tell she _really_ knew how to do makeup, she put on too much in my opinion. She had on tight-fitting skinny jeans and a loose, white blouse that made her look as if she just stepped off the runway. She looked fake, though. Her tan was a little too unnatural and I suspected that her nose wasn't real either.

We were complete opposites: me with my long, wavy, dark hair and her with her short, blond, a-line haircut, me with my fair skin and her with her fake tan. Her eyes were brown. It wasn't like Danny's eyes though, where I thought that if you look in them long enough, you might get lost. Her eyes were dull and flat.

It wasn't just her looks that I disliked right away, though. There was this air about her that said she was one of those girls that acted all nice but really thought she was better than everybody else.

When she first glanced at me she looked unimpressed but then that face quickly disappeared and her eyes tightened. I had no idea why, though- it wasn't even remotely "dolled up". In fact, I just had sweats and a tank top on and no makeup on at all. So I wondered why she started suddenly looking between Danny and I like I would suddenly… I don't know… _do_ something.

I stopped scrutinizing her when Danny said, "Emmy, this is Desiree- my friend. She's a junior too."

_Ha. Friend._

She certainly looked like she wanted to be more than friends with him. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to me.

Desiree brought her face a little too close to mine and said, "So your name is Emmy?" she sounded like she was talking to a three year old. I swear I saw her hand move, as if she wanted to pinch my cheek.

I decided to act like everything was fine, just like she was doing- even though we both knew we would never get along.

"No," I said pleasantly, looking into her eyes.

I saw her eyes narrowed a small amount but she kept up with the "being nice" façade.

"Well Daniel just called you Emmy," she said slowly, like I couldn't understand. "So I think that's your name." I could tell she was losing patience with me because her jaw was clenched.

I smiled again but this time it was real. Who knew that it would be so fun pissing of this girl? "I'm pretty sure that's not my name," I chuckled. I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned my head closer to hers. "I should know."

It was clear that it was getting harder for her to keep her face looking pleasant. If she weren't facing Danny, she would have been sending me a full on glare. "Well then," she said, leaning back. "Would you care to enlighten me on what your name _is_?"

_Not really, actually. Not at all._

"Emmaline… to you, that is." I replied with another cheerful smile plastered on my face.

Her smile disappeared completely and she stood up, walked over to Danny, and put a hand on his shoulder. She said, "Daniel, don't we need to deliver something?" it was clear in her voice just how much she wanted him. I wondered vaguely if Danny realized this. I suppose that I shouldn't have been surprised that she liked him, though- half of the girls in the school wanted to ask him out. He was rather popular and of course, extremely hot.

"Right!" he said, standing up. Even with her really high heels on he was taller than her, just like he was with me. "We came over here to give your mom a recipe but I wanted to let you meet Desiree too."

I wondered how in the _heck_ he could have become friends with a freaking _Barbie_! I knew that she had to have _some_ redeeming quality, though. Danny wouldn't become friends with a complete brat and I knew he had good judgment.

"Okay, well you have fun delivering that recipe!" I said with fake enthusiasm.

He laughed and walked over to me. He slid his arms around my waist, hugged me, and unable to resist, I hugged him back.

"Well," Barbie cut in, "This has been fun but we better go. Don't you think so, Daniel?" as she said this, she tugged on Danny's arm and effectively stopped our hug fest. It was almost like she was jealous. Well actually, I was almost positive she _was_ jealous but she had absolutely no reason to be. It wasn't like I even liked him that way- we were just friends.

Danny gave Barbie a confused look but then nodded. "See you later Em," he said. He kissed my cheek and then walked out of the room with the Barbie following close behind.

"See you," I whispered to the empty room and flopped back on the couch, sighing, not yet ready to write an essay.


	7. Important!

Okay, so. For those of you who are still interested in the story, I am not going to continue it on FanFiction. However, I _will_ continue to update it on the Fiction**Press** website so you can read it on there if you would like to. I have the same user name and everything so just look me up! Thank you for reading this far! ~mpookiew


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